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Swaddling suggestion

¹ Nashua, N.H.

I am writing regarding the article in the July 1997, AAP News, wherein Dr. Heitsch outlined her method of swaddling infants to ease circumcision. She noted that there had been difficulty because the receiving blanket she had been using had been repeatedly confiscated by the folks who sterilized equipment for the circumcisions.

At our local hospital we've solved that problem; our infants are swaddled by their own clothing. The hospital gowns have elastic bottoms, and when pulled up over the arms and around the shoulders, the infants are effectively swaddled, holding their fingers up near their faces so that they can either suck their fingers or a pacifier. The elastic band on the bottom of the gown holds their hands in place. To date, not one infant has assisted in his own circumcision. I am sure quite a few other pediatricians have discovered this simple technique, which requires no sterilization or use of any other hospital linen.